Hey Steve, There are a lot of people more knowledgeable than me but I'll try to help. I looked up your location and you are in USDA zone 8b which is good for cold hardy citrus. It really depends how much time you want to put into cold protection. I am in South Alabama in 8A and have Satsumas, Changsha, Meyer Lemon, Kumquats, Sanbokan Sweet Lemons, and a Limequat in the ground. This winter my lowest temperature so far was 19 last month. I protect the Satsumas, Lemons and Limequats by sprinklers. The Changshas do well on their on when they get some size on them. Check out some pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jbwindham/Dec2006Freeze As far as wet ground goes there you have a problem. Citrus do not like wet ground. They get foot rot. All is not lost though. I'll bet the LSU Ag Center or your local extension agent can tell you the best rootstock for damp soils. http://www.lsuagcenter.com/ Good luck with the citrus. Jack

No, it couldn't. It’s a Tilia. What do you mean by buds? It had buds all winter which opened to produce those leaves. You can just about see next year’s buds beginning to form in the leaf axils. Did you mean flowers? If so they bloom when they’re mature enough to do so and if they have good growing conditions. This one seems to be in rather a shaded situation. Personally I’ve only seen them bloom in open situations and at a larger size.

Maybe it's a geographical deviation but to me, the needles look way too long for A. balsamea. Again, I'm no expert. And are there no 'buds' forming, out there, at the branch tips yet? My balsamea has thick, developed buds already. Underside of branch (A. balsamea).Top of branch.

Yes got it! How do you do it? I read that it's invasive. "Even though this tree is loved and valued by many, we cannot ignore the invasive characteristics that initiated its appointment as a Category II exotic invasive...escape from cultivation and naturalize in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida." That confirms it. This thing has little trees popping up everywhere. I even saw one growing inside of an old tree stump. I guess it's not really an invasive problem in Southern California since it's too dry and can only reproduce when water is available.